All aboard at Fairfield-Vacaville train station

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Warren Green, 2, and his father Brad watch as Capitol Corridor train No. 538 departs the Fairfield-Vacaville Train Station for points east early Thursday evening as they attend a grand opening for the train station.
Joel Rosenbaum — The Reporter

The Wickham family of Cordelia pose for a selfie as Capitol Corridor Train #547 pulls into the new Fairfield-Vacaville Train Station after they attended a grand opening ceremony Thursday in Fairfield.
Joel Rosenbaum — The Reporter

Vacaville Mayor Len Augustine delivers his remarks during a grand opening ceremony at the new Fairfield-Vacaville Train Station Thursday in Fairfield.
Joel Rosenbaum — The Reporter

People walk toward the platform of the new Fairfield-Vacaville Train, which officially opened Thursday after three years of construction.
Joel Rosenbaum — The Reporter

Vacaville, Fairfield and visitors from throughout the region Thursday celebrated getting the Fairfield-Vacaville train station on the tracks.

Capitol Corridor trains, conveying passengers on their commute home from work, welcomed aboard those traveling to the Fairfield-Vacaville station from the Suisun-Fairfield station roughly 10 minutes down the track. However, passengers also got a taste of train congestion during rush hour, which delayed the departure about 20 minutes.

The Wickham family of Cordelia took advantage of the ticket.

“A free ride on a train with a 2-year-old, you can’t pass that up,” said mom Hayley Wickham after the grand opening ceremony. She was waiting on the Fairfield-Vacaville platform for the train back to Suisun City with her husband Noel, 2-year-old son Connor and 4-month-old daughter Cadence.

They don’t take the train very often, though they took Connor on a train a few months ago.

“I think I could see us using it for special occasions,” Wickham said, such as a trip up to Sacramento that Noel would like to take to show Connor the state railroad museum.

The Fairfield-Vacaville station, one of 18 stops on the Amtrak Capitol Corridor, opened to travelers in November 2017 at 4921 Vanden Road, the corner of Vanden and Peabody Road.

The Capitol Corridor links Auburn and Sacramento to San Jose, chugging right through Vacaville, Fairfield and Suisun City.

Crews broke ground on the project in June 2015. The Peabody Road overpass, a safety component of the project that takes vehicles, bicycles and pedestrians over the railroad tracks, was completed and opened to traffic in August 2016.

Solano County Supervisor Jim Spering said $45 million of toll money went into this project that connect land use and transportation, opens up commercial and residential development in the Jepson Parkway area, and provides alternative transportation options for those who live and work in the area.

“It’s affording us an opportunity that Solano County really hasn’t had in the past,” he said.

As Capitol Corridor continues to grow, Fairfield-Vacaville could be designated as an express stop, he added, and this transportation option will help reduce congestion, especially on Interstate 80.

Vacaville Mayor Len Augustine said the Vacaville City Council unanimously voted to have the station here for Travis Air Force Base.

“Fairfield and Vacaville have been quite collaborative in their efforts to do that,” he said.

Fairfield Mayor Harry Price agreed the two neighboring cities are working toward cooperation rather than competition recently.

The Solano Transportation Authority (STA) and the partnership of the seven cities in the county lobbying together has certainly helped, Augustine added.

On behalf of STA, because STA chairman and Suisun City Mayor Pete Sanchez was unable to attend, Augustine said the agency contributed $4 million of STIP (State Transportation Improvement Program) funds to the station, and also has arranged funding for the Jepson Parkway, which will lead to the train station.

It will connect workers to Vacaville’s industrial parks and help Vacaville people get to Fairfield as well, he said.

Additionally, a Lyft pilot program at the station provides subsidized rides to employees who use the train to commute.

Augustine noted that some had concerns on what impact the new station would have on the existing Suisun depot.

“I think it’s going to promote more travelers,” he said, and the station’s parking lot is becoming nearly full on a daily basis.

Lucas Frerichs, a Davis City Councilman and chair of the Capitol Corridor Joint Power Authority, said thousands of passengers have already used the new station since it opened.

“We are fortunate to have a really amazing train station and now you have your own too,” he said.

As traffic gets worse and housing costs go up in the Bay Area, the station provides “much-needed traffic relief,” and the grade separation of Peabody Road is an “important safety measure.”

Capitol Corridor is celebrating 25 years this year, Frerichs said, and Spering has been part of it since the beginning.

“This station is a model for the future of passenger transit,” Wes Lujan, assistant vice president of public affairs for Union Pacific Railroad, said.

He invited representatives from other cities to look at the setup of the station, designed to keep trains moving through the station while safely boarding passengers.

Mayor Price thanked the students and parents of Travis Unified School District, who endured a year-long road closure and detour as the Peabody Road overpass was built.

This was an “Herculean effort,” he said, and he thanked those who saw the future to be in northeastern Fairfield.

Congressman John Garamendi, D-Solano; Ron Turner, field representative for Senator Bill Dodd, D-Solano; Assemblyman Jim Frazier D-Solano; Fairfield City Manager David White; Col. Matthew Leard, vice commander of the 60th Air Mobility Wing at Travis Air Force Base; and Julie Lucido, Fairfield public works director, also spoke at the ceremony.